I decided to take 2 weeks to settle myself in one place with the hope that I could get some headway on my novel. I wanted a nice relaxing setting, close enough to Pompeii so I could make a trip back if I needed, but also close to the Amalfi Coast so I could do exploring. I also wanted to stay away from super touristy areas to keep costs down and allow me to take in a bit of the local culture. With all of this in mind I used Airbnb.com to search the area and came across a nice looking apartment for about $29/night. I contacted the owners and within a couple of days my room was booked and for 2 weeks I would be living with a couple of local guys, Savi and Massimo, in the town of Salerno. Salerno lies on the southern end of the Amalfi Coast and is the capital city of the region. Most people exploring Amalfi make Sorrento their home base, which is technically not even on the Amalfi Coast, but part of the Napoli region. Still that is the city where people flock, making it crowded and expensive, though still very beautiful. From Sorrento they board tour buses to take them down the coast, ending in Salerno. If they even make it that far. Most just take the bus as far as Amalfi town and then turn back from there. Salerno on the other hand is a locals town, a little rough but still quite pretty. The buses heading north along the coastline are filled with mainly locals who are heading to market or small local beaches.
The apartment I am staying in is really lovely and I am given a large room with a comfy double bed and a balcony. The boys I am staying with are friendly and keep the apartment very tidy. They seem much more mature than most Italian men I have met to date and speak pretty good English. They constantly have a stream of friends in the apartment which is nice because I get to meet more locals, though many do not speak English well so most of the conversations end up in Italian and I am left listening to a beautiful stream of words that I do not understand. I pick up familiar words and phrases here and there but that's it. They do make an effort to speak English and include me in the conversation but its tough. Massimo's girlfriend is from Germany, and although she speaks fluent Italian, she also speaks English very well and so I connect with her immediately, she is very sweet, and we laugh when she mistakenly reverts to either Italian or German when she is speaking to me. The guys host dinners and drinks almost nightly with their friends so it seems like there is always something going on, and the food is always delicious. In fact, I do quite a bit of my own shopping and cooking while in Salerno. All the food is so fresh that it hardly matters how I prepare it, I can't really go wrong!
I get a lot of good writing done on my Pompeii novel, but I also get a great start on a second novel when inspiration just hits. This one is not a work of historical fiction, so I feel like I can get it finished much more quickly. It would be great to get something published maybe next year. When I'm not writing I am exploring the city with its fresh food markets and long coast of beaches. I take one trip back to Pompeii, climb Vesuvius, visit the ruins of Herculaneum and of Paestum, and take a bus ride to Amalfi Town and Positano. Massimo even invites me to join him and his friends on a hike from Ravello, a beautiful mountain town, down to Amalfi beach.
I had a really wonderful time staying in Salerno, and I can't thank Massimo and Savi enough for their hospitality.
I will be posting some pictures from my excursions in separate posts, so stay tuned :)
The apartment I am staying in is really lovely and I am given a large room with a comfy double bed and a balcony. The boys I am staying with are friendly and keep the apartment very tidy. They seem much more mature than most Italian men I have met to date and speak pretty good English. They constantly have a stream of friends in the apartment which is nice because I get to meet more locals, though many do not speak English well so most of the conversations end up in Italian and I am left listening to a beautiful stream of words that I do not understand. I pick up familiar words and phrases here and there but that's it. They do make an effort to speak English and include me in the conversation but its tough. Massimo's girlfriend is from Germany, and although she speaks fluent Italian, she also speaks English very well and so I connect with her immediately, she is very sweet, and we laugh when she mistakenly reverts to either Italian or German when she is speaking to me. The guys host dinners and drinks almost nightly with their friends so it seems like there is always something going on, and the food is always delicious. In fact, I do quite a bit of my own shopping and cooking while in Salerno. All the food is so fresh that it hardly matters how I prepare it, I can't really go wrong!
I get a lot of good writing done on my Pompeii novel, but I also get a great start on a second novel when inspiration just hits. This one is not a work of historical fiction, so I feel like I can get it finished much more quickly. It would be great to get something published maybe next year. When I'm not writing I am exploring the city with its fresh food markets and long coast of beaches. I take one trip back to Pompeii, climb Vesuvius, visit the ruins of Herculaneum and of Paestum, and take a bus ride to Amalfi Town and Positano. Massimo even invites me to join him and his friends on a hike from Ravello, a beautiful mountain town, down to Amalfi beach.
I had a really wonderful time staying in Salerno, and I can't thank Massimo and Savi enough for their hospitality.
I will be posting some pictures from my excursions in separate posts, so stay tuned :)
Caffe'
Drinking out of public fountains like the locals
Random ruins in the street...this is an ancient aqueduct line
Groceries!
Chilling out on the balcony
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